Treating oils.



" 0. D. LUCAS.

TREATING OILS. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25. 1914.

1 1 83,09 Patented May 16, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

0 D LUCAS,-

TREATING OILS.

APPLlC/hv ente1May16, 1916. a SHEETS-S55E 1 2.

Pat

3T1 FILED NOV. 25. I914.

0.'D-. LUCAS. TREATING o'us. APB LIQATION FILED NOV; 25. T914.v

Patented May16, 1916.

I 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- 751 WMJw [W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OWEN DAVID LUCAS, OF LONDON, ENG-LAND, ASSIGNOR T0 LUGASS LOWPRESSUBE OIL CRACICENG PROCESS, LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

TREATING OILS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1916.

Application filed November 25, 1914. Serial No. 873,973.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownxthat I, OWEN DAVID LiaoAs, a subject of the King of Great Bi-itain, residing at 49 Linden Gardens, London, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Treating Oils, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a process for treating an oil (such as for example petroleum and other mineral oils, shale oil, etc.) which consists in removing oil vapor from a still by introducing an inert gas (but by which term there is intended to be included steam under pressure) into the still, bringing such mixture into contact with a heated catalyzer and by means of a pump reducing the pressure of the mixture on its exit from the catalytic chamber.

By this invention not only are suitable mixtures of oil vapor not containing tarry matters, which would otherwise clog the apparatus, easily and cheaply obtained but the reduction of pressure in the mixture after treatment with the catalyzer has a considerable influence on the quantities of the light oil obtained from the oil treated. With this object the reduction in the pressure may take place suddenly immediately after treatment with the catalyzer.

As catalyzers there may be employed those ofthe metallic class i. e. a metal or alloy in a porous condition such as nickel or an alloy of it or the oxid or suboxid of such metal. The catalyzer may be packed in tubes or in the annulus formed of a pair of tubes the inner tubeof which forms a furnace tube.

The temperature at which the oil is distilled, the pressure of the inert gas and the difference in pressure aftef treatment with the catalyzer cannot be stated definitely as each will depend on circumstances and should be ascertained by experiment but as an example when treating petroleum the temperature in the still may be 360 (3., the

pressure of the inert gas 5 lbs, thetemperature to which the catalyzer tubes are heated 500 to 600 C. and the difference in pressure after treatment with the catalyaer be 6 lbs. In order to utilizeas far as possible all the heat generated the oil to be'treateit is preferably heated by the already treated oil.

The vapors after treatment may be at once separated into fractions while the permanent uncondensed hydrocarbon gas produced may be returned partly to the still and form the inert gas and partly be utilized to heat the still and catalyzer.

The invention is illustrated in l the accompanylng drawings of which Figure 1 is a 'front elevation partly in section and with some parts broken away of the apparatus, Fig. l isa detail view in elevationand with parts broken away of an o l container, Fig. 2 is a plan, Fig. 3 is a right hand end view of the furnace and still, Fig. 4 Is a section of -the catalyzing tubes and vaives, Fig. 5 shows a modified arrangement for heating the catalyzgr.

Referrmg mainly to Figs. '1 and 2, l is a pump feeding petroleum through a pipe 11 into a closed container 2 and out through a pipe 102 into astill 3. The oil is forced by the pump 1 through the pipe 11 into a vertical pipe 11 in the container. This pipe is closed except at its lower end where 1t has escape openings as shown. The still 3 has 1n it a} vapor collecting pipe 103, a heating coil 33 and a perforated pipe 113 located above the oil level. I

fl is a furnace for heating the still contaming a gas burner 104. i

5 are tubes containing a catalyzer 6 and more clearly shown in Fig. 4 which shows that the tubes 5 are supported at each end by headers 105 so arranged that the sole inlets to the tubes are through seatings 51 of valves and that the outlets from the tubes can be closed by valves 55; v

7 is a dephlegmator; 107 are collecting trays forming battles for the vapor passing upward in it; some of the trays 107 are provided with a water circulation 77 for controlling the temperature, and means are provided, as shown at 117, for leading off condensates from some of the trays.

- 8 are pipes leading off condensates and leading to coils 108 contained in a cooling tank 9.

10 are pipes each connected to a coil 108, the lower end of each pipe 10 ends in a siphon 110, which deliver the condensates into masks, the upper end of each pipelO leads into a collecting pipe 111.

12 is a pipe'leadi ng from the top of the dephlegmator 7 into a coil 13 located in a cooling tank 15; 16 is a pipe connecting the coil '13 to a second cooling coil 14, the lower end of the pipe 16 ending in a siphon 110 as before; 17 is a pipe connected to the coil ll whose upper end leads to the collecting pipe 111 and whose lower end ends in a sl phon 11 as before.

18 is an absorbing tank filled with petrol and closed to gas except for an outlet pipe 115; the pipe 111 leads to the bottom of this tank.

19 is a suction pump'connected on its suction side to the pipe 11h through a valve 88 and on its delivery side to a pipe 109which is connected through a valve 99 to a pipe leading to the perforated pipe 113 and through a valve 199 to a pipe 21 leading to the gas burner 101 in the furnace.

22 is a pipe leading vapor from the coil 33 through the oil container. 2 thus heating the oil, and out through the pipe into the bottom of the dephlegmator 7.

21 and 25, Fig. 3, are auxiliary vapor 2O burners of any 'known construction for starting the apparatus and 181 is an overflow from the absorber 18.

The apparatus works as follows: The burners 21- and are lighted thus bringing 5 the catalyzer tubes 5 and the still 3 to the required temperature; the valves 55 at the inlet to the tubes are kept fully open while the valves at the outlet of the tubes 5 are more or less closed as indicated in dots 6 but preferably closed more fully so as to allow of a sudden expansion. Petroleum is forced from the container 2 by the feed pump 1 through the pipe 102 into the still- 3; the suction pump 1!) is set in action. Va-

5 por passes from the collecting pipe 103 to the bottom of the dephlegmator.

livered into any suitable receptacles.

the tubes 5 and is acted upon by the catalyzer contained therein; the treated vapor then passes the partially closed valves (Fig. 1) at the outlet ends and is nowled 40 into the coil 38 thus heating the vapor in the still ;'the vapor then passes through the pipe 2:2 which passes downward in a sinuous path through a coil 222 in the oil container and out through the pipe :23 into The vapor rises therein and is condensed into fractions which pass out through the pipes 8 into the. coils 108 contained in the cooling tank 9 the cooled condensates being do- On cooling, some permanent hydrocarbon gas formed by the action of the catalyzer is liberated from the condensates and passes upward in the-pipes 10 to the collecting pipe 55 111 while the main portion of the permanent gas mixed with ome vapor passes out from the top of the dephlegmator 7 and is cooled by its passage in the coils 13 and 11 located in the cooling tank 15; condensed vapors are siphoned off while the permanent gas passes to the collecting pipe 111, bubbles up through the petrol contained in the absorber 1S and through the pipe 118 to suction pump 19 and thus through the pipes 109and 20 to the perforated pipes 113 in the still. Thehydrocarbon gas aids in removingthe vapor from the still while the vacuum on the other side causes a reduction in pressure in the still, and when the outlet valves a re. nearly closed, asudden reduction in the pressure directly in rear of the catalyzer tubes. When sutlicient permanent hydrocarbon gas is produced both to supply the still and the gas burner 101 the auxiliary burners 21. and 25 are cxtinguished. It is obvious that if steam under pressure be employed in place of a current of an inert gas it is only necessary to connect the perforated pipes 113-to a source of steam the apparatus working as before except that there may be an excess of permanent gas which excess may be collected in anv convenient manner.

In Fig. 5 the catalyzcr consists of an electrically heated thin nickel tube 26 which may also be filled with a catalyzing material. This tube is surrounded by an iron tube 27 electrically insulated from the tube 26, perforations being provided at one end of the tube 26 for the inlet ofthe mixture of oil and gas Which pass over the outside of this tube, then through the perforations, returning through it and from thence out into the still as before. current of low voltage and high current density is passed through the tube 26.

WVhat I claim is 1. A process for treating oil which consists in removing oil vapor from a still by introducing an inert gas into the still, leading the mixture into contact with a heated catalyzer, reducing the pressure of the mixture by means of a pump, condensing the vapor from the mixture and delivering the gas thereof into the still.

2. A process for treating oil which consists in removing oil vapor from a still by introducing an inert gas into the still, leading the mixture into contact with a heated catalyzer. reducing the pressure of the mixture by means of a pump, condensing the vapor from the mixture, separating it into fractions and delivering the gas thereof into the still.

A process for treating oil which consists in removing oil vapor from a still by introducing an inert gas into the still, leading the mixture into contact with a heated catalyzer reducing the pressure of the mixture by means of a pump. condensing the vapor from the mixture and delivering the gas thereof partly into the still and partly into the still furnace.

i. A process for treating oil which consists in removing oil vapor from a still by introducing an inert gas into the still, bringing the mixture into contact with both sides of an electrically heated catalyzer tube, and reducing the pressure of the mixture by means of a pump.

catalyzer by means of a pump, and then heating the mixture affir its pressure has been thus reduced.

10 6. A process for treating oil which consists in removing oil vapor from astill by introducing a hydrocarbon gas into the still,-

bringing the mixture into contact With a heated catalyzer and suddenly reducing the pressure of the mixture by means of a pump. 15

OWEN DAVID LUCAS.

W itnesses:

JOHN H. WHITEHEAD, ALFRED H. SAUNDERS. 

